Keep this fire burning [c]

The sunlight was somewhat weak, but still warm. Scarlet enjoyed fall and winter more than spring or summer. Though she was rather small, she was much more used to cold weather than warm weather. She didn’t really get cold until the temperatures hit around 5 degrees or so, so anything higher than that was pretty comfortable to her. Though there was a chill on the breeze today, the girl still wore a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Her hair had been meticulously straightened and brushed, and fell in pretty sheets down her back and around her shoulders. The sheer length of her hair ensured it took her an hour or two every morning to get it to look how she wanted.

Scarlet stopped in her tracks as he phone started vibrating in her pocket. Her eyebrows knitted together as she pulled it out and unlocked the screen, reading several texts from her roomie. Her lips pulled downward into a frown. Scarlet didn’t really like going out and doing things, but she also didn’t like telling people ‘no’ or disappointing them. Especially not people that she liked! She swallowed, her thumbs flying across the screen to formulate a response.



The girl moved off of the sidewalk as she waited for the response. Within seconds her phone vibrated again and she nodded to herself, returning it to her pocket. She traveled quickly to the agreed upon meeting place, arriving a little before Nora. She chewed her lip nervously, blue eyes flitting around, trying to find the redhead. She hated waiting for people or things. It made her so nervous.

The girl jumped a little as she heard her name called. She turned, bringing her hands up to her chest. Wide, blue eyes watched as Nora ran toward her. Her roommate always had so much energy! Scarlet found herself a little envious. Nora was so pretty and nice and she didn’t have any trouble at all making friends. The white-headed girl wished she could be more like Nora, but for now she could simply settle for being friends with her. Nora was a really good friend so far, after all!

As the redhead reached her and grabbed her hands, Scarlet laughed nervously – though the smile on her face was genuine through and through. She gripped Nora’s hands back, easily bouncing alongside her. Scarlet always found herself caught up in Nora’s energy, but it was kind of nice. “Of course I’d say yes!” She giggled softly, moving to tuck her hair behind her ears when Nora let go of her hands. Scarlet’s response had a connotation that Nora wouldn’t pick up on – one that Scarlet herself wouldn’t pick up on. Of course she’d say yes, because Scarlet didn’t know how to say no to anyone.

Her eyes followed Nora’s hand as she gestured down the street to a café. Already, Scarlet was calculating how much money she had in her account. She hadn’t gotten a job yet, because she was struggling so much in certain academic areas – namely math. But she figured she would have plenty of money to get a coffee or a sandwich. And then Nora would be buying her something, which Scarlet was very excited about. “Yeah!” She chirped, “That sounds good~”

She tilted her head slightly at her roommate’s next words. “…a special occasion?” she echoed, confused. What occasion? There wasn’t anything going on that was aware of….

Scarlet fell into step beside her roommate, her arm reaching to snake around the other girl’s waist when she felt the weight of Nora’s arm on her shoulders. Scarlet had never been touched so much as when she started school at Birchwood. Nearly everyone just seemed fine with reaching out and touching her, and though the feelings were foreign, she found that she did like them. It was nice, in a way. In another way, it made her feel somewhat strange. Maybe she just needed to get used to it.

She turned her head to look at Nora as the redhead spoke, large blue eyes blinking slowly as she nodded to encourage the other teen to continue speaking. As soon as the news was delivered, Scarlet stopped in her tracks. A wide smile cracked across her features, and a high-pitched squeal followed it. “Nora!!!” It was clear to see from the way that he face lit up that she was excited for the other girl. Scarlet was somewhat of a hopeless romantic. She viewed being in a relationship as the ultimate goal of her life, so hearing that her friend was in one simply put her over the moon.

“That’s so great!” She gushed, reaching forward to grab Nora’s hands. “Who is it? Is he cute? Do you have a picture?” Words and questioned continued to tumble from her lips. In her excitement, she almost overlooked her friend’s uncertainty, however, at the last moment she took a step back and acknowledged it. “What do you mean?” She questioned, tilting her head. “What do you need help with?” Her brow furrowed. Though the girl had read an embarrassing amount of romance novels, she knew nothing about how such things worked in real life.

Scarlet smiled at her friend as she told her who she was dating. Personally, she had no idea who the boy was. But if he was older than her, she probably didn’t have any classes with him. She wracked her brain for a moment, trying to see if she could pull a picture of him up in her mind’s eye, but she simply couldn’t. “Timothy is a cute name~” She gushed. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement, but the smile on her face gradually wore off as Nora continued to tell her why she was nervous. Scarlet thought that all of her roommate’s worries were valid, so she wasn’t exactly sure how to comfort her. She remained quiet for a moment, finally jumping when the other girl apologized. “N-No, it’s fine!” She assured her. “I always wanna be here for you and hear about your life!” She went on sincerely.

“M-maybe…” Scarlet reached up, twirling her fingers in a lock of her hair nervously. She always felt a bit apprehensive at voicing her opinions. She really just didn’t want to upset anyone. “Maybe it’ll be good for you to date someone different?” She finally managed to get the words out. “I-I mean, there has to be a reason that none of the other guys really worked out. Maybe you weren’t compatible with them.” She finally smiled again, tipping her head to the side.

“You should just follow your instincts, I think! I mean, you’re really great! What’s not to like?” Once again, Scarlet smiled sweetly. She really liked Nora, so everyone would… right?